The internet is vexing me with it’s inconsistency so I’ll get to it as quickly as possible. Some good stuff came out this week. Try it out. You know the drill.

NEW STUFF: (Links in titles)

Moonsorrow – Jumalten AikaI’ve been sort of a casual Moonsorrow fan but I kept hearing how good the new album is so I figured it’s time to give it a shot and yeah, it’s pretty good. It’s hyper folk infused, slightly operatic black metal. I think there are other bands that do this better but Moonsorrow have a firm grasp on it and this album was fun to listen to.

Astral Path – An Oath to the VoidAstral Path is a Canadian band that just seemed to spring out of nowhere. This is their first and only release (so far) and it’s just some fucking killer ambient/atmospheric, furious black metal. SO much intensity and beauty on this one.

Mortichnia – Heir to Scoria and AshThere’s not much info on this band aside they’re from Ireland and play a post/black/doom style of metal. There’s some really amazing moments on this album where the vocals and music mix perfectly but for the most part I think this territory has been covered better by other bands. Still, a solid listen.

Alastor – WaldmarkThis long running, Austrian band quietly released their third album in March and while they seem to be highly regarded amongst the Austrian extreme metal scene, this is my first encounter with them but I’m glad I did. Alastor mixes black metal with pagan themes to conjure a primitive spirit and beautiful sounding record. It really picks up steam on the second half and takes some interesting turns musically.

Panphage – Genom Konst & KrigThis is a collection of all the Panphage material released between 2007 and 2011. The stand out collection on here is the Ursvol demo but the rest are fucking killer as well. If you like raw, atmospheric black metla, Panphage fucking kills it.

Sun Worship – Pale DawnFor a band called Sun Worship, this album is not at all warm. Sun Worship take a mixture of atmospheric black metal and traditional minimalist black metal and just beat you over the head with it for forty minutes. It’s bleak and oppressing and about as far from the sun as you could get. Pretty solid album though.